1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of fitting connectors and the connectors for use in the method, for easily ascertaining whether the connectors have been completely or incompletely fitted to each other. The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. Hei. 9-185589 and Hei. 9-236014 which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
A so-called mount-on-panel type connector is such that a mating connector is fitted into the other connector retained in a through-hole of a vehicle body. A connector of the sort disclosed in, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-91628 will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 19 and 20. FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of a door illustrative of a wiring method; FIG. 19, an exploded perspective view of a connector supporting structure on a trim side; and FIG. 20, an exploded perspective view of a connector supporting structure on a frame side. A connector 5 on a trim side is provided in one end portion of a harness 3 on the trim side, the harness 3 being wired to the side of a door trim 1. A pair of U-shaped connector supports 7 projecting toward a door frame 9 are provided on the lower side of the intermediate portion of the door trim 1 in such a manner that the open sides of the connector supports 7 face each other. A rubber ring 11 is mounted on the connector 5 on the trim side. The connector 5 on the trim side is press-fitted in between the pair of connector supports 7 in such a state that projections 13 projecting from the outer surface of the connector 5 are retained in engaging holes 15 bored in the rubber ring 11 in a manner free from slipping off. The connector 5 on the trim side is so postured that it is allowed to slightly move vertically and horizontally and held within a plane perpendicularly intersecting the direction of the door frame 9 because of the elastic deformation of the rubber ring 11.
On the other hand, a connector-supporting recessed portion 17 is provided on the side of the door frame 9 facing the connector 5 on the trim side. Further, a connector 21 on the frame side is provided in an end portion branching off the mid-portion of a harness 19 on the frame side wired to the side of the door frame 9. The connector 21 on the frame side is fitted into the connector-supporting recessed portion 17 and mounted therein in such a state that flexible retaining protrusions 23 provided on the outer side surfaces of the connector 21 on the frame side have been retained in retaining holes 25 provided in the inner peripheral surface of the connector-supporting recessed portion 17, respectively. The connector 21 on the frame side in this case is so postured and held that it is allowed to slightly move in one direction because of the flexibility of the retaining protrusions 23.
When the door trim 1 with the harness 3 thus wired is incorporated into the door frame 9 with the harness 19 on the frame side thus wired as shown in FIG. 18, the connector 5 on the trim side is automatically connected to the connector 21 on the frame side. The slight shifting of both connectors 5, 21 from each other at this time is absorbed by the freedom of the rubber ring 11 and the retaining protrusions 23, whereby both connectors are precisely connected to each other.
The aforesaid method is effective when there exists the necessity of connecting circuits for electric equipment on the side of the door frame 9 and what is on the side of the door trim 1 and besides these circuits become readily connectable.
In addition, a rubber grommet is mounted on a panel as a mount-on-panel type connector of the sort described above and this grommet is brought into intimate contact with the panel so that it has a waterproof sealing function as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 8-330019. This connector will subsequently be described with reference to FIG. 21, which is an exploded perspective view of a conventional waterproof connector.
A waterproof connector 31 in this example comprises an inside connector 37 mounted from the inside with respect to a panel 35 which has a mounting hole 33 and used to partition the environment into the inside and the outside, and an outside connector 39 mounted from the outside. The outside connector 39 comprises a connector housing 41 for accommodating terminal metal fittings (not shown) pressure-welded to the tip of an electric wire, a panel sealing grommet 43 for covering one side of the connector housing 41 from which the electric wire is drawn, tying up the electric wire thus drawn in a bundle and guiding the bundle to one side, and a grommet cover 45 for covering the grommet 43 and press-holding the peripheral edge of the grommet 43 toward the panel 35. The inside and outside connectors 37, 39 are coupled to each other by tightly screwing a bolt 47 passed through from the side of the aforesaid grommet cover 45 into the inside connector 37.
In the case of the waterproof connector 31 thus constructed, the grommet 43 is put on the connector housing 41 while retaining projections 51, 53 of covers 41b, 41c for covering a base body 41a are being inserted into the through-hole 49 of the grommet 43, and the leading end sides of the respective retaining projections 51, 53 are projected out of the through-hole 49. Subsequently, the grommet cover 45 is put on the grommet 43. While the grommet cover 45 is being slid along the surface without the retaining projections 51, 53 and moved to a proper fit-in position with respect to the grommet 43, the mounting of the grommet 43 is completed in a state in which the grommet 43 is kept in intimate contact with the panel 35.
In the conventional connector shown in FIGS. 18, 19 and 20, however, since it has been arranged that the connector 5 on the trim side and the connector 21 on the frame side are indirectly positioned and fitted to each other by incorporating the door trim 1 into the door frame 9, the problem is that the (incompletely and completely) fitted condition of both connectors 5, 21 remains hardly easily confirmable.
In the conventional connector shown in FIG. 21, since the fit-in portions of the inside and outside connectors 37, 39 are hidden by the grommet 43, the fit-in work becomes difficult to do. Further, since the base body 41a and the pair of covers 41b, 41c for covering the rear surface side of the base body 41a are used for forming the outside connector 39 and since the grommet cover 45 for press-fitting and holding the grommet 43 is required, the problem is that the number of parts tends to increase and this results in lowering fitting workability.